Teri’s Touchstones

Essential Tools for your Wildatarian® Kitchen

Touch·stone (n): a test or criterion for determining the quality or genuineness of something – in this case a kitchen helper.

These Touchstones represent what I believe are essentials for any Wildatarian Kitchen. I have divided them into Must-Haves (those items you can’t do without) and Love-to-Haves (wonderful accents to fully equipping your best Wildatarian kitchen).

We have made it easy for you to purchase these personally vetted items. Just click on the title of the item and it will take you directly to Amazon where you can purchase it with just one click! It’s the Wildatarain way of ease and flow and effortless living!

Must-Haves

The following are what I consider essential tools in any Wildatarian kitchen. I have these in my kitchen and know that these effective Touchstones have saved me thousands of dollars and countless hours in prep time. The meals I prepare with these tools are tastier and much less expensive when compared to dining out – especially when you consider that restaurants often expose us to “secret” ingredients that are better avoided! A key benefit of the Wildatarian lifestyle is living in abundance without having to spend hours in the kitchen to prepare a meal. These touchstones and my recipes make delicious nutritious Wildatarian meals easy to prep and clean up.

I have provided short descriptions for each of the items, explaining, what they’re used for and why I believe they are essential tools for your Wildatarian kitchen!

Because Wildatarian meat can be so much leaner, a cast iron skillet can give you an amazingly tender steak. I heat the pan, add olive oil, thinly slice my cut of meat and sear until just pink in the middle. The heat of the cast iron keeps the meat’s natural juices in and promotes incredible flavor. You will need a few “helpers” – a silicone handle cover, a pot holder and a sponge.

This is my go-to whenever I need to save time on cooking. It is also essential for those very lean cuts of meat, such as venison. The pressure cooker allows you to make stews with any wild meats – resulting in a tender, succulent meal. It’s a great way to cook dried beans as well – saving time and deactivating some of the nutrients which can make beans harder to digest. The Instant Pot offers a pressure cooker and slow cooker in one – saving counter and storage space.

Stainless steel has great qualities and you can use it daily without any health concerns. Scientists have proven that many of the non-stick cooking surfaces off-gas toxic fumes and can leach chemicals into your food. Aluminum and copper cookware can also be problematic – as these are metals which can have unintended consequences in your body. Stainless steel is non-reactive and safe – and you don’t have to worry about little flakes from non-stick pots and pans getting into your food.

Cutting boards are essential to any kitchen, but you want to make sure that whatever your Wildatarian food touches is going to be clean and chemical-free. I use organic bamboo cutting boards that are BPA-free and antimicrobial, plus they look great in my kitchen.

Meal prepping is a key component to maintaining a Wildatarian lifestyle. In order to keep all your delicious leftovers and ingredients fresh, you need a storage container that is safe and clean.

These BPA-free, snap-on glass containers are perfect for the freezer, fridge or microwave. Best of all, if you take these for your in-office Wildatarian lunches, you can microwave them safely knowing that no plastic will leach into your food. The glass containers also cut down on the carbon footprint, another tenet of living as nature intended.

I don’t know what I would do without my NutriBullet. It is great for everything from delicious smoothies to tasty dips. It is easy to clean and can be taken “on the go” with its easy lid and friendly container design.

The Vitamix is the most powerful blender on the market, and while expensive, it is worth every penny. You can use this blender in so many ways – to make a smoothie, blend a salad dressing, puree a soup and liquefy or pulverize literally any food item.

I liken juicing to a nutrition IV. The extracted nutrients don’t need digestion – they are ready to go into your body and start feeding every cell. Juicing is essential to keeping your liver clean and it is a practice I enjoy daily. I really like masticating juicers like this OmegaVert. It’s easy to use and takes no time to clean.

I use parchment paper in baking and roasting to decrease the burden of aluminum – a heavy metal – in my body. I use aluminum foil to make pan clean-up easy, but line it with parchment paper on top to provide a barrier between the food and the foil.

The “non-sponge” is a steel-wool sponge that tends to collect less dirt and germs when compared to regular kitchen sponges.

Love-to-Haves

The following tools will round out the best Wildatarian kitchen! Great items for you to request on birthdays, holidays, or just because you deserve them. Better yet, purchase them over time with a goal of having a fully outfitted Wildatarian kitchen by the end of the year!

Being sustainable means cutting down on the plastic waste we create – this includes those ubiquitous seasoning containers. These battery operated grinders look great and are extremely convenient. Use whole peppercorns and unbleached Himalayan or sea salt to make sure your spices are as fresh as can be.

The spiralizer is great for making pasta-like substitutes for a variety of dishes. All Wildatarians can enjoy zucchini noodles – zoodles – or spiralize a sweet potato for healthy hash browns. Use almost any vegetable in this fun kitchen tool!

One of the cornerstones of the Wildatarian diet is replacing commercially raised meat and poultry with wilder, healthier options. Unfortunately, it can sometimes be hard to find ground versions of meats like venison, lamb and bison. This meat grinder is perfect for turning a whole cut of meat into ground for patties, meatloaves, chilis, sauces and even sausages!

Canning and fermenting – use these for canning fruits, veggies and making ferments

Water for the day – we all know that we need to drink lots of water! Fill mason jars with filtered water in the morning and know that you need to empty them by the end of the day. A splash of lemon, lime or juice can make them delicious and nutritious!

I love lattes but am apprehensive of the quality of milk and coffee that go into those that are sold at coffee shops and restaurants. Making a professional quality latte is easy with the Aerolatte. Best of all, you can choose your milk and coffee! I choose organic, cold processed coffee low in mycotoxins and free of toxic pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. Always choose a clean, organic dairy or nondairy milk and enjoy!

When I first got this as a gift, I thought I would never us it – but I was wrong! This old-world kitchen helper releases essential oils from plants, seeds, and herbs. Great for guacamole making, flavoring sea salts with herbs, crushing garlic or making curry.

These are the best kitchen scissors around! They can do everything from opening thick plastic packaging to cutting poultry and trimming meats. Scissor herbs right into the pan, saving yourself a cutting board to wash.